Volume 19 Introduction
“The dirty little secret at that time within the black hip-hop community was that [Beastie Boys album] Paul’s Boutique had the best beats.” — Chuck D of Public Enemy, in an interview with VIBE Magazine For most people, if you say the name Beastie Boys they will think of “(You Gotta) Fight For Your Right [...]
Volume 18, Track 14
“Stratford-On-Guy” by Liz Phair (1993) [This is Phair's response to "Shine A Light"] “I was flying into Chicago at night Watching the lake turn the sky into blue-green smoke The sun was setting to the left of the plane And the cabin was filled with an unearthly glow In 27-D[1] I was behind the wing [...]
Volume 18, Track 13
“Johnny Sunshine” by Liz Phair (1993) [This is Phair's response to "All Down The Line"] At about the 1:15 mark “Johnny Sunshine” changes from a typical, early ’90′s alternative-sounding song to a sound that wants nothing more than to evoke pain: Phair’s choruses of “you left me nothing” are at a higher volume than normal, [...]
Volume 18, Track 12
“Divorce Song” by Liz Phair (1993) [This is Phair's response to "Ventilator Blues"] “Divorce Song” might be one of the most brutally honest songs about a relationship that is falling apart that I have ever heard. The lyrics are so blunt and so great (without ever getting metaphorical or cryptic) that for what will quite [...]
Volume 18, Track 11
“Mesmerizing” by Liz Phair (1993) [This is Phair's response to "Loving Cup"] Every great band or artist has a couple of songs that, when you hear them (either for the first time or for the hundredth or thousandth time, except that this time an unknown gravity about the song hits you in the face), you [...]
Volume 18, Track 10
“Explain It To Me” by Liz Phair (1993) [This is Phair's response to "Torn And Frayed"] What a beautiful song, musically and vocally speaking. The guitar and drums emanate from the speakers in an elliptical manner like a carousel of mellow and soft thunder; Phair’s voice, so soft and natural, and operating on an octave [...]
Volume 18, Track 9
“Soap Star Joe” by Liz Phair (1993) [This is Phair's response to "Sweet Virginia"] The strength of “Soap Star Joe” is the lyrics. If women quoted songs like men quote movies, “Soap Star Joe” would be their This Is Spinal Tap or Airplane! I could easily see any of the following lyrics being thrown around [...]
Volume 18, Track 8
“6’1″” by Liz Phair (1993) [This is Phair's response to "Rocks Off"] With a few coordinated wrist and finger movements, the metallic riffs on the first track of Liz Phair’s debut album commence and with it the first set of lyrics are sung: “I bet you fall in bed too easily/With the beautiful girls who [...]
Volume 18, Track 7
“Soul Survivor” by The Rolling Stones (1972) How do you end an album in which the first seventeen songs leaned pretty heavily on pianos, organs, and an array of horns for texture? You record a song that limits those instruments, of course. With “Soul Survivor,” the track that ends Exile On Main St., the Stones [...]
Volume 18, Track 6
“All Down The Line” by The Rolling Stones (1972) Reason #17 as to why I hold Exile On Main St. as being the greatest rock album ever made: the back-to-back placement of “Let It Loose” and “All Down The Line.” “Let It Loose” was a gospel-inspired track and the longest song on the album; to [...]
Volume 18, Track 5
“Let It Loose” by The Rolling Stones (1972) “Let It Loose” is the longest song on Exile On Main St., clocking in at over five minutes. It is one of the more mellow songs on the album, as well as being one of the few tracks to leave out any of the power that Keith [...]
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